Appointed by Governor Davis
6/1999 to 1/2004
Resigned position
1/1/2004
Robert Pernell was appointed to the California Energy Commission by Governor Gray Davis in June 1999. The five members of the Energy Commission are appointed by the Governor to staggered five-year terms and requires Senate confirmation. By law, the five members of the Energy Commission have professional training in specific areas - engineering or physical science, environmental protection, economics and law. One commissioner is appointed from the public-at-large.
Commissioner Pernell filled the environmentalist position.
He was presiding member of the Legislative & Intergovernmental Committee, Efficiency Committee, and served on the Dynamic Pricing Committee (Ad Hoc Committee) and the Budget &Management Committee.
Mr. Pernell served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District from 1994 through 1998. He served as the Board Chairman in 1997. Before his appointment to the Energy Commission, Mr. Pernell was the Director of Research and Legislative Advocate for the California State Council of Laborers'. From 1984 to 1990, he served as Business Representative for the Construction and General Laborers Union Local 185.
He served as a board member of the California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance. From 1989 to 1992, Mr. Pernell served as Commissioner on the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Commission. In 1992, he received a gubernatorial appointment as a member of the California Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Committee. Mr. Pernell served on various local government and community action projects including the Sacramento Valley Toxic Campaign, the Economic Development Task Force for South Sacramento and the Sacramento Area Commission on Mather Air Force Base Conversion. He also founded Meadowview Community Action, a non-profit organization that operates Head Start, job training, parenting skills and AIDS prevention programs.
He graduated from California State University Sacramento with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication. He also served in the United States Army from 1967 to 1970.